


Ice to meet You

by Thundersnow (pieprincess_andthe_fallenangel)



Series: Ice to meet You [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, BAMF Leonard Snart, BAMF Lisa Snart, Barry is not the Flash, ColdFlash Week, ColdFlash Week 2016, Cryokinesis, Fluff, Human Barry, Humour, Ice Powers, Iris is supportive, Joe doesn't approve, Len is ridiculous, M/M, Pining, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, Sexual Tension, Soulmarks, meta Len, supportive friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 03:44:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8781658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pieprincess_andthe_fallenangel/pseuds/Thundersnow
Summary: He looked from Barry’s mark to his own, examining them for differences. But there were none. They were in the exact same place, the exact same colour, exact same shape. They were identical. For a moment, Len couldn’t think. He was completely side-lined. But then Barry started laughing and it drew Len’s attention. Barry (Len’s soulmate!) had the happiest grin on his face. His eyes were sparkling with it. Boy… if he knew what he had just stumbled into then he would not be laughing..Or the meta!Len soulmates AU that no one asked for. Filled with puns, mischief, and a certain thief’s attempts at wooing Barry Allen using his cryokinetic powers.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saruma_aki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saruma_aki/gifts), [voidpanda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidpanda/gifts).
  * Translation into Русский available: [Бр-р-риятно познакомиться](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10225127) by [Kotokoshka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kotokoshka/pseuds/Kotokoshka)



> Day 4: Meta Len.
> 
> Thank you to my two beautiful friends, Salma and Maja, for helping me fine tune my ideas for this fic. Hopefully it turned out okay and isn't too rushed.
> 
> A few things to mention: Len has powers but Barry doesn't. The soulmarks can be found anywhere on the body in various colours, shapes, and sizes. Most people find their soulmates in their twenties and the day they reach 30 their chances of finding each other drops drastically, and continues to drop every year following. Also, in case you're interested, [this is the image that I based Barry and Len's soulmarks on](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8f/c5/42/8fc54274dccbdb3281b91de33b494151.jpg), except it goes from the inside of the elbow all the way down to the inside of the wrist in this fic.

Len stood inside the café with an iced coffee in one hand and his phone in the other. He'd been standing at the table for ten minutes now without taking a sip, but relaxing with a drink wasn't on his agenda for today. And if it _had_ been, then coffee wasn't exactly his go-to beverage. No matter how fun it was to order an iced Americano… despite the fact that no one in this room knew that he was Captain Cold because he had always been so careful about that.

Until a few nights ago, that was. Someone had interrupted his latest heist... it was just some amateur thief but Len hadn't known that at the time. At the time he'd thought it was the cops showing up early and he had to high-tail it out of there as quickly as possible, forgetting to wipe down his fingerprints from the wires underneath the alarmed display case that he'd been tampering with. It was a stupid, _foolish_ , mistake.

He _couldn't_ be put back onto the police's radar because of this! Leonard Snart hadn't been linked to any crimes in nearly three years. And Captain Cold… well, the police had no clue who Captain Cold really was. And Len would like it to stay that way. Which was why he was here, at Jitters, despite the fact that Len hadn't even been near a coffee in nearly thirty years because it made him rash and irritated and those were _not_ good qualities in a master thief. But Barry Allen, the lead CSI on all of the anti-metahuman taskforce cases, didn't seem to share his opinion on caffeine. In fact, the kid seemed to live off of the stuff. Which Len knew because he'd been shadowing him for the past few days.

Normally, he would do more recon on anyone before approaching them. But this was a time sensitive issue. He had to find out what the cops had been able to uncover at that last crime scene. Did they get a full print? Partial? Did they not think to check the wiring at all? He had to find out. Which meant that he had to infiltrate the anti-metahuman taskforce via one of its members. The cops on Captain Cold's case might recognise Len from his past as a known thief… but it was less likely that the CSI would.

So he'd chosen Barry Allen as his target and trailed him for a while, happy to find that he seemed to be gay and single: it would be much easier to find out what the cops knew this way…

Len waited, subtly keeping his eye on the door. Barry had come here before _and_ after work the past few days. And a quick check of his bank records showed that that was a frequent occurrence, meaning that Jitters was the ideal place to 'run into' him. And, honestly, who didn't love a good coffee shop meet-cute?

Except, as the minutes ticked on, Len started to wonder if Barry was going to show up at all. His shift was supposed to have ended twenty-three minutes ago and it was only a ten-minute walk from the precinct to Jitters. Maybe Barry was planning on giving it a miss tonight?

Len's line of thought was interrupted by the door opening and a tall, slightly lanky, man walking in. Returning his eyes back to his phone, Len took a step back and turned around to place himself directly in Barry Allen's path. As planned, Barry walked right into the older man and Len ended up ' _accidentally_ ' upending the cold coffee all over himself.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry," Barry said quickly, his eyes wide and shocked. Len feigned surprise and then sighed as he tried, fruitlessly, to dab away the coffee stain forming on his white dress shirt. Len made his face appear open and warm as he made eye contact with Barry.

"It's not your fault. I wasn't watching where I was going," he brushed off with a shy smile. Len ran his eyes appreciatively down Barry's body. And, actually, he didn't have to fake that: Barry was most definitely attractive. "I'm just glad that I didn't spill any on you," Len finished and watched Barry blush.

"Can I… erm," Barry started, uncertainly. "Can I get you another coffee? Unless you have to be somewhere, that is," Barry muttered quickly and Len smirked and nodded, making a show of shoving his phone into his pocket.

"A coffee would be great." He dropped his, now mostly empty, cup of coffee in the trash and zipped up his leather jacket to hide the stain on his shirt. "I'm Len, by the way," he said as he joined the young CSI in the short queue.

"Barry," he said and stuck his hand out for Len to shake, a large grin on his face.

"A pleasure to meet you, Barry," Len drawled and enjoyed the way that Barry blushed in response. Barry ordered Len another iced coffee and himself some odd caramel concoction that ended up looking sweet enough to rot his teeth. So, the kid had a sweet tooth? That information could come in handy.

Len and Barry moved to sit at a table and Len asked about Barry's job. He knew he wasn't going to get the information he wanted right away but it was good to lay the ground work for future questions.

"I'm an antiquities dealer," Len shrugged when Barry inevitably turned the questions back to him. "I… acquire items of value like paintings, jewellery, diamonds… and I sell them on to my clients."

"Really? How did you get into that?" Barry asked and Len shrugged once more.

"It's a family business."

"That's awesome. Well, if you like the job, that is. Do you like it? If not, then I guess it would kind of suck." Barry laughed and Len found himself genuinely smiling then and it surprised him: he hadn't expected anyone working for the CCPD to be so… likeable.

But Barry was different than he'd anticipated. He was funny and smart and kind. And maybe Len was staring at Barry in something akin to awe, because Barry was blushing again. And that blush was just _fantastic_. Len would have no qualms about finding out how far down that blush could go. Barry ducked his head momentarily from Len's gaze, a large grin on his face, and scratched shyly at the back of his neck. Len's eyes were drawn to the movement automatically.

But then his smile was slipping from his face and his eyes were probably bugging out of his head as the movement exposed the inside of Barry's wrist to Len and he saw the edge of Barry's soulmark peeking out from underneath his coat. Len's hand automatically shot out to grab Barry's wrist as the younger man began to drop it back to the table. There's was electricity in the touch and Barry's eyes darted back to Len's face instantly, but Len was just staring at the edge of the soulmark that was visible to him.

… it _couldn't_ be…

After a long moment, Barry used his free hand to tug the sleeve of his coat as far up his arm as it could go. Len could feel his heart beating a mile a minute as Barry showed him the rest of his soulmark. It was a large mark, larger than normal: an ice blue line starting from the crook of his elbow and continuing down to his wrist, branching out multiple times and getting thinner every time that it did. It looked like lightning running down Barry's inner arm, glowing against his skin.

Len swallowed thickly and dropped the younger man's wrist. He was shrugging off his jacket, unbuttoning the cuff of his shirt, and pulling back the sleeve to reveal his own soulmark before the idea had even fully formed in his mind. He looked from Barry's mark to his own, examining them for differences. But there were none. They were in the exact same place, the exact same colour, exact same shape. They were identical.

For a moment, Len couldn't think. He was completely side-lined. But then Barry started laughing and it drew Len's attention. Barry, Len's _soulmate_ , had the happiest grin on his face. His eyes were sparkling with it. Boy… if he knew what he had just stumbled into then he would not be laughing.

"You're my soulmate," Barry exclaimed and Len managed to snap himself out of his shock, putting a smile on his face and faking the happiness that Barry was exuding. He didn't have time to deal with the mess of feelings running through his head right now… he had a job to do.

"Yeah. I guess that makes asking for your number a bit easier," Len smirked and Barry stumbled, almost dropping his phone twice, as he tried to pull it out of his pocket. "I _really_ wish I could stay," Len drawled after they exchanged numbers. "But I have to go back home to change before work," he lied smoothly, drawing Barry's eyes back to the large coffee stain on his white shirt.

"Right, right," Barry said, standing up as Len did and then looking awkward about it. "I'll… I'll call you."

"Please do," Len drawled and shrugged his leather jacket back on. "I'll be seeing you, Barry," he said and then made a quick escape from the coffee shop. The cool winter breeze outside was less suffocating than the stuffy heat inside and so Len found himself able to relax and think a little more clearly. To say that he was surprised to meet his soulmate would be an understatement.

Len was nearly 45. _No one_ met their soulmates this old! Your odds for meeting them dropped _significantly_ after turning 30 and then continued to drop every year that followed. Len wondered briefly if he could do this. If he could have a soulmate… if he could _be_ a soulmate. His chosen lifestyle didn't exactly leave much room for a partner, especially not a cop! The truth was that he had given up all hope of ever meeting his soulmate 15 years ago… but now Barry was here and Len was going to just have to deal with that.

Actually, finding Barry's soulmark had almost come as a relief ( _almost_!), but Len didn't want to drag anyone into his mess of a life. And the fact that Barry would eventually figure out who Len was and why he'd approached Barry in the first place wasn't exactly thrilling. As Len made it back to his home he wondered how Barry would react to finding out the truth, not realising just how soon that would be a reality.

[] [] []

When Barry got into work the next day, he felt like the happiest man in the world. His _soulmate_. He'd met his _soulmate_! And Len was funny, and smart, and cute. Okay… maybe hot was a better word than 'cute' to describe him. Or gorgeous? Stunning? Breath-taking? The list of adjectives really did go on.

Last night, when he left Jitters, he didn't go back to his apartment. Instead, he'd gone straight to find Joe and Iris and tell them the happy news. Barry was 25 now and so, as 30 slowly started to creep closer and closer, he'd been starting to worry that he'd never find his soulmate. And as more and more of his friends had started to find theirs, his worry had only grown. Even Iris had found Eddie now (and that one had particularly hurt). But now that he'd met Len, it felt like all of his worries had just melted away and he just had to share that with the people he loved! He only had to wait a couple more days and he could visit his dad in Iron Heights and share the news with him too.

When he'd finally got home last night after telling Iris and Joe all about how he'd finally met his soulmate, he decided to just text Len and ask him out. After all, what was the point of playing hard to get with your soulmate? They'd swapped a couple of texts back and forth (texts that Barry was now staring at dreamily on his phone as he waited for the finger print scanner to do its job) and now Barry was going to have his first date with his soulmate tonight!

He was so busy daydreaming about what he was going to wear (he wanted to wear a shirt with short sleeves so that he could display his soulmark proudly on their date, but it was winter and pretty cold. So, unless the restaurant was especially warm, he didn't think that would be a good idea) and wondering if he should have sex with Len tonight… should the chance arise, that he almost didn't notice the machine beeping.

Barry realised that the finger print analysis had brought up some results and grinned to himself, this week just kept getting better, as he rolled his chair over to the computer. He could feel excitement brewing as he opened up the app. The fingerprint that he'd found at the crime scene was their first clue to finding out who Captain Cold really was, but Barry had been particularly overworked this past few months since two of their CSI's quit and so, with all the backlog of paperwork and tests he'd had to complete, this was the first chance he'd had to run it.

The file loaded and Barry's smile froze on his face, his heart dropping into his stomach, as he recognised the face of the man in this mugshot. Leonard Snart. Len. Barry's soulmate was a criminal.

[] [] []

Len still wasn't quite sure how he was going to deal with the fact that he'd found his soulmate, but he knew he had to stick to the plan. He needed to know as much about the cops' investigation into Captain Cold as possible. If they were closing in on Len, then he had to be prepared. So he texted and flirted with Barry, and now he was waiting in the proposed restaurant for his date.

Barry was running a couple of minutes late, but Len had been expecting that after seeing his sign-in records at work. But when he _did_ show up, Len was surprised and wary to see that the man didn't look happy anymore.

"Barry," Len greeted, standing up as his soulmate approached the table. They were in a four star Thai restaurant and both of them were wearing suits, though Barry looked like he'd be much more comfortable in jeans. Or maybe it was the situation itself that was making him appear uncomfortable?

"Leonard," Barry replied and Len sighed. _Crap_. He didn't go by Leonard very often, usually only people he worked with called him that, so it was easy to remember that he had introduced himself as Len. If Barry knew his full name, then his cover was likely already blown. This was not good.

To Len's surprise, Barry sat down at the table. Len paused for a moment before also returning to his seat and waiting to see what his soulmate had to say about this new… development. Barry only met his gaze for a moment before he went to staring at his hands and fiddling with the napkin in front of him to give himself something to do as he thought.

Len remained silent until, finally, Barry said "are you a criminal?" Len considered lying and seeing where that would take him, but he knew there was no point. Barry knew. Now Len just had to figure out how _much_ he knew.

"I have, in the past, been known as a thief. Yes," Len replied, carefully picking his words. He knew that the cops didn't have much on him, not enough to convict him anyway, and so he had to be very careful to put everything he said into past tense so as to not incriminate himself for current crimes in case Barry was wearing a wire. Len didn't think Barry _would_ wear a wire to his first date with his soulmate, but that suit was generic and untailored enough to hide one perfectly. If Barry could manage to forgive him for this, then he'd have to talk the kid into visiting his tailor.

"And you're… Captain Cold?" Barry asked, slowly raising his head to meet Len's gaze again. So, Len supposed, that answered his question about whether or not he'd left any finger prints behind. His name was now going to be permanently linked to all of Captain Cold's crimes. That was okay. He'd enjoyed the short break from having cops tracking his every move and constantly scrambling to pin the crimes on him. But he'd always known it was going to come to an end eventually. And it wasn't like one finger print could put him in the cooler again. The evidence was completely circumstantial, just like everything else they'd found on him in the past 20 years.

Len didn't answer Barry's question. Instead he reached forward towards the glass of water on the table and, once his finger touched the glass, used his cryokinetic powers to reduce the kinetic energy of the molecules of water. Barry's eyes went wide as the water slowly transformed to ice in front of them. Len retracted his hand and sat back quickly, keeping all of his attention on Barry as he sat quietly.

"That was so cool!" Barry exclaimed, a dazzled look on his face, and Len raised an eyebrow at that.

"Come on, Kid, ice puns are my thing," Len drawled and Barry laughed.

"Do you have to be touching something to turn it to ice? Can you make ice from thin air or does it have to be a pre-existing object? And does it work the opposite way around, too? Like, can you melt ice? Do you ever feel the cold or are you resistant to it?" Barry blurted out.

"No, I don't. I can make it from thin air. I can melt my own ice but not anything already existing. And I feel the cold but it just doesn't affect me anymore," Len answered and Barry nodded along, smiling as he absorbed that information. But then he seemed to remember the situation and internally reprimand himself. He shook his head and sat back on his chair.

"It doesn't matter how awesome this is: what you're using it for is _wrong_ , Len!" Barry corrected himself. "You're a criminal and that isn't right," he stage-whispered across the table. "You shouldn't be using _this_ ," Barry waved his hand to indicate the glass and almost knocked it off the table in the process, "to help you steal things!" When Len said nothing, Barry shook his head and stood up.

"You're leaving," Len presumed, his voice flat.

"I… yeah. I need some time to think this through," Barry replied and left quickly, shooting one last look at the table Len was sitting at before disappearing through the door. Len swallowed thickly and used his powers to melt the ice in the glass before slowly standing up and leaving too. Len had been shocked by Barry's obvious excitement about his powers, but not surprised to see him flee once it finally settled on him that his soulmate was a wanted criminal.

As he drove home, he wondered if Barry would want anything to do with him from now on and tried not to let that thought get him down too much. But over the next few days he couldn't help but chastise himself about having any sliver of hope that this thing with Barry could have ended in any other way. He attempted to not let his bad mood show through, but Lisa must have noticed because on Saturday morning she stopped around his house with a box a blueprints.

"Hey, Lenny. How about a bit of brother sister bonding time?" she asked sweetly and then barged in through the house before he could decline. Len sighed and followed her into the kitchen, where she was already laying out page after page of blueprints and employee work records. "Don't worry. The plans are solid already. But I just thought that we haven't really pulled a heist together since you got your ice powers."

"There's a reason for that," Len pointed out and Lisa waved it off.

"I know, I know. You don't want either of us associated with _Captain Cold_. But I miss pulling a heist with my big bro. And last night I was just finalising these plans for next month when I thought 'you know who loves diamond heists? Lenny'. So here I am." She finished with a big smile and Len dropped onto one of the chairs around his table before frowning.

"I'm not really feeling up to it right now, Lisa. Maybe next time."

"What? It's a diamond heist, Lenny. You _love_ diamond heists! They give you the most opportunities to make ice puns."

"I don't live to make puns, Lisa," Len muttered and his sister frowned even deeper.

"Okay. This is the last straw," she bit out, standing up straight and crossing her arms. "You've been moping for days and now you're turning down a _diamond_ heist? What the hell has gotten into you?" Len held Lisa's gaze for a moment before flicking his eyes back down to the table, deciding that maybe it was time to tell her about Barry Allen.

"I met my soulmate last week," he admitted. He didn't look up from the table but he saw Lisa take a seat opposite him, resting her elbows on the table and leaning forward. "And he's a badge."

"Ouch," Lisa hissed and Len let out a short huff of a laugh.

"That's not even the worst part," he muttered and then went into the explanation about everything that had happened: from realising that he'd left evidence at a crime scene to Barry walking out on him at dinner. Lisa remained silent and so Len finally looked up at her, seeing the shock on her face.

"I can't believe it."

"I know. Who'd have thought that _my_ soulmate would be a cop," Len snarked and Lisa shook her head.

"Not that. _This_ ," she declared, raising her hand to encompass all of Leonard. "You're giving up. You _never_ give up. You're the guy that, once you set your eye on something you don't rest until you have it. And yet, here you are, letting your soulmate slip away without even fighting. This isn't like you."

"It's not that simple, Sis." Len sighed.

"Nothing ever is, Lenny. But that's never stopped you before." They stared at each other silently for a moment before Lisa sat up a little straighter and leaned forward on her elbows. "Answer me this, do you want him?" She asked, completely serious. Len took a moment to think it over before, reluctantly, nodding his head. "Then forget the diamond heist, let's go steal you your soulmate's heart!" Lisa exclaimed happily and Len rolled his eyes, even as a plan began to form in his mind.

"Fine. But, we're going to need Hartley's help," Len announced after a moment.

The plan was a simple one, but very risky. Len and Lisa had been doing this for each other for years: whenever they thought that the cops were closing in on them, the other would sneak into the station and figure out what they knew before deleting any particularly culpable evidence. Usually it would be a solo job. But if the fingerprint had already been run, and it must have been for Barry to figure out who Len was, then Lisa could need Hart's help deleting all traces of it from the system.

The details of the plan were finalised by Sunday morning and by that night, Lisa and Hartley Rathaway were already sneaking around the police station. Len didn't like this part, the waiting. He didn't like knowing how much Lisa was risking for him right then. But, eventually, her and Hart were back at Len's house and she was grinning.

"Lover boy didn't pass your name on to anyone at the CCPD," she announced and Len frowned.

"You're sure?" He asked, ignoring Lisa's nickname for Barry.

"Yup."

"We wiped the history of the scanner," Hartley stated, slouching on Len's sofa and kicking his feet up onto his coffee table. Len would normally reprimand that but Hart _had_ just done him a favour so he supposed he could let it slide this once. "And then I personally checked the entire server and each and every computer of the officers in the anti-metahuman taskforce. There wasn't a single mention of your name anywhere."

Len… hadn't been expecting that.

Maybe Barry wasn't as willing to give up on them as he seemed. Now Len only had to figure out a way to woo Barry into dating him. His biggest problem, though, was that he knew next to nothing about the kid. The only things he knew for sure was that he was always late, he _loved_ coffee, and he was fascinated by Len's metahuman powers.

[] [] []

When Barry arrived back at work Monday morning, he was still conflicted about what to do with the evidence he'd found against Len. He was also, more than slightly, sad that the man in question hadn't tried to reach out to him since their failed first date. It just added to Barry's theory that Len was only interested in him because he was trying to get closer to the taskforce. It _couldn't_ be a coincidence that Captain Cold made his first real mistake only a few days before Len and Barry had met. But, even so, Barry had still held out hope that Len felt _something_ for him.

That hope was slowly shrinking.

It seemed to all but diminish when he made it into his lab only to find the evidence had disappeared from his office. Barry collapsed into his chair, burying his head into his hands, as he realised that he'd just been completely _played_ by Captain Cold. And he couldn't even do anything about it. If he told Captain Singh that someone had broken into his office and stolen evidence, then Singh would question why Barry had found something that could lead to the identity of one of their most high-profile metahuman thieves and not reported it.

He would be under some serious suspicion at work if he reported it. And god forbid if anyone ever found out that Captain Cold was his _soulmate_! He could actually lose his job over this! Just when Barry was starting to _really_ freak out, there was a soft tap at his door and he looked up to see a man dressed in a Jitters uniform and holding a coffee cup.

"Are you Barry Allen?" The man asked and Barry frowned before quickly nodding.

"Erm, yeah? Yes. That's me. Or… I? He? I'm not too sure about that particular grammar rule," Barry rambled and the man just frowned before moving into the room and placing the coffee on his desk along with a napkin.

"One large salted caramel mocha latte, with extra whip cream," the man said and then turned to leave.

"Wait… You deliver?" Barry questioned and stared at the cup suspiciously. The man just shrugged.

"For a tip this size, yeah," was all he said before he turned and left the lab. Barry stared at the cup for a moment before noticing the scribble of blue ink on the napkin, reading ' _sorry for how we left things. Call me_ ' and then signed with a drawing of a snowflake. Barry didn't know whether he was excited or annoyed, but he grabbed his mobile anyway and quickly dialled Len's number.

"You stole evidence from my lab," Barry accused when the call was answered and there was a pause on the other line.

"I don't know, Barry. That doesn't seem like something I would do," Len teased and Barry hated himself for how his heart fluttered at his soulmate's voice.

"Len…" started cautiously and the other man sighed.

"It was my sister," Len admitted, which surprised Barry. He had expected Len to deny it. Barry thought that over for a moment… if Len was willing to tell him the truth from here on out, then maybe this might work.

"You have a sister?" Barry asked instead of continuing on with his questioning about the evidence.

"Yeah, Lisa," Len replied and then paused again. "You didn't read my file?" And Barry shook his head slightly as he muttered his response.

"No… I thought about it but I didn't want to snoop," he admitted. As Barry waited for Len to reply, he pulled the coffee closer and sighed contently at the scent of salted caramel in the air. He couldn't believe that Len had remembered his order. Maybe there actually _had_ been something real between them then? Len already got what he wanted, the evidence, and so what other reason would he have to try to make things right with Barry if he didn't like him?

"Does that mean I should stop snooping on you?" Len deadpanned and Barry laughed. When Len didn't join in, though, his laughter died off.

"You're serious, aren't you?" He asked, remembering how Iris had done a lot of snooping and Facebook stalking of Eddie when they'd first met. Barry had promised himself that he wouldn't be like that, but maybe it didn't bother Len?

And then there was the fact that he had met Captain Cold the day before he had found evidence against him. He already knew that that wasn't a coincidence, but just how much recon had Len done before approaching him that day? Barry realised suddenly that Len had been tracking him long before he realised they were soulmates. Because Barry had been Len's _target_. Even if Len wanted something real with him now, it didn't change the fact that this had started simply because Len wanted a way into the investigation. The only reason they had even met was because Len wanted to use him.

"I should go."

"Barry, wait…" Len muttered, sounding almost worried, but Barry couldn't deal with this right then and so he hung up. He felt guilty almost immediately after. But, no, none of this was _Barry's_ fault. Barry half expected Len to just ring him back instantly and was a little bit disappointed when he didn't, but he just put it out of his mind for the day and tried to get on with his work as normal. However, it wasn't that easy with Joe popping in on him every half an hour.

Joe knew that there was something wrong but Barry just didn't know how to tell his father-figure the truth. When Joe had confronted him on Friday about how he'd gone from being over the moon about meeting his soulmate to looking like someone had 'pissed in his cheerios', Barry had made up a lie about how his and Len's date the previous night had been postponed because of family issues and Barry was just really nervous about seeing him again. But Joe had always been able to tell when Barry was lying and it was just a matter of time before he brought the subject up again.

When Barry _finally_ managed to get off of work, he checked his phone and noticed that he actually _did_ have a missed call from Len. Barry swiped away the notification and pocketed his phone before continuing home.

By the time he woke up the next morning, Barry found two new texts from Len on his phone reading ' _I'm sorry, Barry_ ' and ' _can we talk?_ ' Barry felt a little bit guiltier this time when he ignored the messages. But he honestly wasn't just doing it to be petty, Barry knew that he could forgive Len for what he'd done but he just needed _time_ and a chance to get his bearings with the situation.

Len, however, didn't seem to understand that point. Because when Barry got into work the following day, Wednesday, he was instantly summoned to another Captain Cold crime scene. Barry was really coming to regret volunteering for this taskforce… he had just been so _excited_ at the prospect of real-life supervillains! In Barry's defence, though, he'd never expected to find out that one of them would end up being his soulmate.

When he got to the crime scene, dodging Singh's rant about being late… again, he found Joe standing next to Cisco Ramon. Cisco was their expert consultant for these cases, he used to work on the particle accelerator before it exploded and so he knew a lot about dark matter and was able to theorise how each metahuman's powers worked as well as providing the police with new tech to help them catch the bad guys. He and Barry had gotten along instantly, quickly becoming best friends.

"Hey, Bear," Joe said as he approached. "We've got an odd one today."

"You can say that again," Cisco stated. "Captain Cold never works two jobs this close to each other. And his scores are usually much bigger than… this," Cisco waved his hand to indicate the low-end art gallery they were standing in front of. "And to top it all off, there's the message."

"Message?" Barry asked, curious despite himself. "For us?"

"I hope not," Joe muttered and Cisco laughed.

"It kind of seems like he's… flirting with someone. Another thief, maybe?" Cisco elaborated and then waved his hand dismissively. "You'll see once you get inside." Barry nodded and turned to the door, slowly walking inside and trying to not let his nerves show through. Len had left a message… had it been for him? He wasn't quite sure if he wanted it to be or not.

But then Barry was inside and staring at the ice on the wall – which somehow had managed to keep its shape and not melt, which was… new – and Barry felt a little flutter in his chest. Only one picture appeared to be stolen, a picture titled Soulmates in a Thunderstorm, and in its place there was a large cartoon lightning bolt iced onto the wall with the words ' _sorry for snooping. Call me_ ' written alongside it.

Barry smiled for a moment, trying to figure out if this was ridiculous or romantic. But then he shook himself. How could he even entertain then idea of this being romantic?! Len had just _stolen_ a painting. That wasn't romantic; that was reckless and criminal.

Barry bit his tongue and did his job, checking for any evidence that was left behind but not finding anything. Len had obviously been more careful again this time, which Barry chided himself for being vaguely happy about. He _really_ needed to get his emotions in check. Once Barry was done with the crime scene, he took a detour on his way back to his lab and ended up ringing Len.

"What are you doing?" Barry demanded the second that Len answered and he heard a short huff of a laugh from the other line.

"You're not very good at this phone etiquette, are you?" Len drawled and Barry just frowned.

"… What?" He muttered and could practically hear Len's eye roll.

"Would it kill you to say hello?"

"I…" Was Len really chastising Barry about Barry chastising him? Barry blinked blankly but he didn't have the time to waste right now, the crime scene wasn't too far away from the precinct and so Singh would be expecting him back soon… he couldn't afford to argue over this. "Hi."

"Hello, Barry," Len drawled, sounding like he was grinning, and Barry sighed and tried again.

"What are you up to, Len?"

"Trying to get your attention," Len answered as though it was obvious. Which, okay, yeah it was. But Barry hadn't really meant to ask what he was doing but more why he was doing it like this.

"Through _crime_?"

"Well, you wouldn't answer your phone and I can't stop by for a visit because I'm assuming you want me to pretend that I don't know where you live," Len replied smoothly and Barry began to rub at his forehead, closing his eyes momentarily and just barely avoiding walking into a lamppost.

"I'm hanging up now," Barry muttered, but didn't actually move to do it.

"You're still on the line," Len pointed out after a couple of seconds.

"Shut up," Barry complained and Len did. They both stayed on the phone for a little longer in silence as Barry tried to find the words he needed to say.

"I don't think a phone call where neither of us say anything is very productive, Barry," Len teased after another moment and Barry sighed but he still couldn't find the words. He knew what he _should_ say. He should say that they just weren't going to make it. He should say that they were going to be one of those 0.005% of found soulmates who couldn't make it work and so they should just give up now to save them both the heartache. But Barry couldn't even bring himself to believe that. "Can I say something now?" Len asked after another couple of moments had passed.

"Okay," Barry replied shakily.

"I'm glad that you called," he said quietly and Barry's heart gave another flutter.

"Yeah, well, you didn't really give me much of a choice. You can't just leave notes like that for me, Len. Not at a crime scene!" Barry said, trying desperately to hold onto the anger that he could already feel ebbing away.

"Why not? No one knows who I am and no one knows they're for you," Len pointed out and Barry frowned because he _did_ make a good point. And it _had_ been a bit exciting working the crime scene today… but, no, Barry couldn't let it continue. It just wasn't right. Barry was just opening his mouth to tell Len that it didn't matter that no one knew because it was just _wrong_. But then he heard his name being hollered up ahead of him and spotted Iris waiting outside the police station, probably for Eddie. Barry hadn't even realised how close he was to work and he stiffened.

"I have to go," Barry muttered quickly.

"Talk to you soon, Barry Allen," Len drawled and Barry flushed at the sultry tone of his voice.

"… Bye," Barry finished ineloquently and hung up quickly. He pocketed his phone and walked over to his friend, who started talking a mile a minute about her and Eddie's plans for their two-year anniversary. Barry nodded and tried his best not to let his own love troubles get in the way of being excited for one of his best friends.

Once work was over, Barry went over to Joe's house for a family meal. Iris was already there once he arrived, helping to set the table with Joe. She grinned as Barry entered the room.

"Okay, Barry, spill. You've not talked about Len since you first met him. What's he like?"

"Oh, not much to say yet, really…" Barry continued his lie. "We've not had chance to go on that date yet," he shrugged and Joe set the cutlery down on the table loudly before crossing his arms and frowning at Barry.

"I don't know why you're lying, Barry, but this has to stop," Joe demanded and then his voice went a little softer as he continued, showing his concern. "Something obviously isn't right."

"No, er, no it's not," Barry admitted and then scratched the back of his head nervously before blurting out the truth. "He's… a criminal." Silence filled the room for a moment before Joe slowly stepped around the table to get closer to his foster son.

"Who?" He asked cautiously.

"Leonard Snart." For the briefest moment he considered telling them that Len was Captain Cold, but he shut that thought down before it had even fully formed. For some reason, he found himself very protective over that particular piece of information.

"Barry, please tell me this is a joke! Do you know what he's done?" Joe declared, his face instantly going red, and Barry had to avert his eyes.

"No. And I don't really want to," he admitted. It was hard enough knowing your soulmate was a supervillain without knowing all of the nitty gritty details of his crimes. Knowing what he had done as Captain Cold was unavoidable but he didn't want to find out anything else, if he could help it. Maybe he was still in denial about it, but he didn't care.

"Barry… are you still seeing him?" Iris carefully asked and Barry shook his head, took a deep breath, and replied.

"No. Not since I found out…"

" _Good_ ," Joe declared, making Barry wince and Iris suddenly angry.

"Dad!" She reprimanded. "You're making this worse." Iris went on to insist that Barry needed support right now and not negativity and Barry felt his heart squeeze in gratitude for his best friend/sister-but-not-really.

Joe obviously still wasn't happy about this revelation, but Iris pulled Barry into a hug once they were alone after the meal was over. Barry sank into it, feeling the full meaning of a problem shared is a problem halved because now it felt like all the worry he'd been carrying around the past few days was a little more manageable.

"Ignore Dad," she whispered and Barry laughed because Joe hadn't said anything that Barry himself hadn't already thought multiple times over the past week.

"He's right, though," Barry mumbled. "I can't date a criminal."

"You can do whatever the hell you want, Barry Allen," Iris insisted quietly but fiercely. "If you want to date Leonard Snart, then you date Leonard Snart. I'll stand beside you. And Dad will come around eventually." Barry smiled at her support but then pulled away with a sigh.

"I work for the police," he reminded her and she just waved it away.

"And they can't fire you for dating your soulmate," she reminded him. "So forget about them. Forget about Dad. What do _you_ want, Barry?" She asked and Barry scratched the back of his neck. Could it really be that simple?

[] [] []

Barry's talk with Iris had left him… confused. He realised that he didn't know what he wanted. If it was just the Len that he was talking to on the phone, the smart, funny, sexy, guy that had somehow wound up being Barry's soulmate, then Barry would have jumped at the chance to be with him. But it wasn't just Len, it was also Captain Cold. Logically, Barry knew that Len and Cold were the same person, but in his heart he just couldn't merge the two of them. It just didn't seem to add up that Len could be a supervillain.

And so the next few weeks continued on in much of the same pattern. Len would commit a crime (usually a small-paying one), he would leave a note in ice frozen to a wall, Barry would ring him and they would talk and flirt for a few minutes, and then the cycle would repeat. Sometimes Len would ring or text him and Barry decided there was no point in ignoring it anymore, and so he started replying. Soon, it was starting to feel like they were in the beginning of a real relationship.

The messages changed each time. At first they were all pleading for Barry to call him, but after Len left one saying ' _your voice brightens up my day_ ' Barry had immediately rung Len to laugh at how corny that was… and eventually admit that he liked soppy things like that. And so, since then, every message had an element of sap to it. Things like ' _you melt my cold heart_ ' and ' _I thought I was the criminal, but you're the one who stole my heart_ ' and ' _your laugh gives me chills_ '.

But then Len asked him out on another date and Barry, for lack of a better phrase, froze up. Talking and texting seemed harmless now, but going on a date? That would make this real. That would mean that Barry was _actually_ dating a criminal. And he just wasn't sure he was ready to admit that. And so he turned it down.

And that was when the gifts started coming, sent to his lab instead of to his apartment… even though Len apparently knew where he lived…

The gifts started off small but they slowly began to escalate: the first one was just a copy of a book that Barry had admitted to always wanting to read but never got the chance to, and the next was a new mug after he accidently dropped his, then it was a thicker scarf, which eventually turned into a winter coat. And before Barry knew it, he was unboxing an eight-grand Rolex. Barry stared down at the watch in his hand and shook his head. He instantly dialled Len's number, tapping nervously as he waited for an answer.

"Barry," Len answered, and _wow_ did Barry love the way that Len drawled his name.

"Did you steal this?"

"Steal what?" Len asked casually and Barry rolled his eyes.

"The Rolex, Len. What else would I be talking about?" Barry sighed and then frowned. "Wait… did you steal the _other_ presents too?" Len remained quiet and Barry dropped his head into his hands. "All of them, Len? Really? You can't do that!"

"I'm a thief; it's what I'm best at," Len brushed off, sounding amused.

"You're literally sending stolen goods to a police station. Do you not see the issue with that?"

"Cool off, Barry. I've made sure that none of them are traceable."

"I cannot believe I'm having this conversation," Barry muttered. "Just… don't send me anything else that's stolen, okay?" Barry asked and Len agreed to the request. Once Barry was off the phone, he packed the Rolex away and made a mental note to throw out all of the gifts that Len had stolen for him. Except the coat, because it was the cosiest thing he had ever worn. And the mug too, because it had the chemical formula for coffee on the side and Barry found that endlessly amusing and cute. But that was it. Nothing else could stay.

Going into work the following day, Barry found another parcel on his desk and got ready to be angry at Len for ignoring his request. But then he opened it up to find a brilliantly carved butterfly ice sculpture inside of a cool box. Barry blinked at the sculpture and then picked it up. It was cold to touch but didn't melt under Barry's warm fingers, meaning that Len had probably made it using his cryokinesis… Barry turned the sculpture around and looked at it carefully, noticing that it was the exact same species that he had studied for his thesis at college.

Barry smiled and put the sculpture into the freezer in his lab. If Len had made it then Barry knew it wouldn't start melting for at least a day, something about Len's ice had a different chemical structure that allowed it to stay unaffected for longer than regular ice, but he wanted to preserve it for just that little bit extra.

Barry texted Len to thank him for the gift and, after that, a new parcel containing an ice sculpture was sent to Barry near-daily. Sometimes they were a bit generic, like the snowman that Len sent him the day of the first snowfall of the year, and other times it was more personal, like their soulmark engraved clearly into a slab of ice… or an impressively accurate sculpture of Barry as a child hugging his mom. It was one of Barry's favourite pictures of them together and he choked up a little bit when he saw it in ice form, sent to him on his mum's birthday.

When Barry rang Len that day, he couldn't find the words to express how much it meant to him and his simple "thank you" just didn't seem like enough.

"What was she like?" Len asked and Barry smiled sadly as he described his kind-hearted mother to Len and how she had been murdered during a home invasion. The police arrested his dad, but Barry knew deep in his heart that they had the wrong man and so he became a CSI to get justice for his parents. He hadn't told anyone this story in a long time because every time he did he received a sad look and just _knew_ that they thought he was in denial. But, somehow, with Len it didn't feel like that. For the first time in a long time, it felt like someone actually believed him.

[] [] []

The two-month anniversary of when they had first met approached and Len continued to leave Barry messages at crime scenes and gifts at his lab. The gifts weren't always ice sculptures anymore, but Len always insisted that he'd paid for every one of them and so Barry wasn't going to complain. He was, however, feeling a little bit guilty about the fact he had never given Len anything. When he brought this up to Len, though, the man just brushed his worries off.

"I don't need presents," Len had said. "But if you really want to give me something… then how about a date?" But Barry couldn't do that. He was too… _scared_. Not of Len, of course; he knew that his soulmate would never hurt him… but he was just terrified of the idea of dating a wanted criminal. This was all going to blow up in their faces sooner or later, and Barry would much rather put that off for as long as possible.

But Len, apparently, didn't share the same mind-set. Because when Barry walked into his lab on the day of their two-month anniversary (though, did it really count as an anniversary if they weren't even dating? Barry thought that it did) he found… nothing. Not a single parcel was sitting on his desk. Barry wondered if the mail was just a bit late that day, but by the end of his shift there still wasn't anything. Barry wondered if Len had forgotten and that irritated him more than it really had any right to. He considered calling Len anyway but, before he could, Joe barged into his office with a mildly worried look on his face – meaning that he was probably internally freaking out. Barry was out of his seat instantly, his phone forgotten.

"What's wrong?" Barry asked, trying to not let his mind run wild worrying about what the hell could actually make _Joe_ worry.

"There was a break in at Iron Heights," Joe said and Barry's stomach plummeted to the floor.

"My dad… is he okay?" Barry asked and Joe nodded.

"We think so."

"Wait, what do you mean you ' _think so_ '?" He demanded.

"They broke him out," Joe explained and Barry just blinked at Joe for a moment. Who the hell would want to break out his _dad_? That didn't make any sense. His dad wasn't a criminal. His dad was just… just his _dad_.

"Who did?" He asked carefully, hoping to shed some light on the situation, but Joe just shook his head.

"We're not sure yet. The cameras went black and no-one saw their faces. So far we haven't found any evidence but don't worry, Barry, we _will_ get him back," Joe assured him and Barry nodded. He knew that; but, whereas Barry wanted his dad back because he was worried about what the kidnappers might do to him, Joe just wanted him back because he was worried about a convicted criminal being free. It didn't matter how insistent Barry was that his dad was innocent, Joe just didn't believe him.

Barry wanted to help but they sent him home because of a 'conflict in interest', insisting that Barry inform them if Henry Allen made contact with him. They thought that his dad was in on this plan, Barry realised, they didn't believe that he had been kidnapped. How were they going to find him if they couldn't even entertain the possibility that he was innocent?! Barry, hesitantly, went back to his apartment and started pacing a hole in his carpet. This wasn't right. He shouldn't be stuck here, he should be out there at the prison and figuring out a way to find his father! He needed to help. He… he was getting a text.

Barry quickly picked up his phone and opened the message in case it was Joe texting to keep him informed on the case. For the first time ever, he found himself being disappointed that it was a text from Len. He quickly skim read the message and frowned.

From: __**Len**  
Received: __**5:57pm  
****I have another gift for you. This one can't be delivered. Come to the warehouse on Meadow Lane and bring enough food for three.**

That… that couldn't be implying what Barry _thought_ it was implying… could it? There was no way that _Len_ broken his father out of jail. No. That was ridiculous. Why would Len even _do_ that? Still, Barry founding himself ringing Joe for an update on the case. Joe was reluctant to give Barry any information about his dad's case. But, eventually, he admitted that it looked like they were dealing with a metahuman. _Somehow_ , the metal bars of his dad's cell had been shattered. _Like ice_ , Barry thought.

So Len _had_ broken his dad out of prison. But… why?

Barry didn't question it for much longer. He quickly grabbed his wallet and left his apartment. Meadow Lane was only a ten-minute walk away from where he lived but he decided to do what Len had said and stop for food on the way: his dad would probably appreciate a real meal for once instead of whatever they were passing off as food at that prison. He was walking into the abandoned warehouse a few minutes later. There was a warm light glowing nearby and so he carefully followed it, his heart beating fast against his ribcage, until he found Len sitting on a leather sofa next to Henry Allen.

" _Dad_ ," Barry breathed out. He dropped the pizza boxes he was holding onto Len's lap as Henry Allen jumped up and pulled him into a hug. It was surreal, being able to actually hug his father… being in the same room with him without a sheet of bulletproof glass between them. He shouldn't be happy that Len had broken his dad out of prison… but he was. He was delighted, in fact. Ecstatic, even.

"How are you, Son?" Henry asked, his voice sounding just as emotional as Barry felt.

"I'm fine, Dad," he muttered and they hugged each other for a little longer. When Barry finally managed to pull away, he opened his eyes and saw Len eating a slice of pizza and smirking at them. "You shouldn't have broken him out," Barry attempted to chastise him, but his voice sounded soft even to his own ears. He was too happy to see his father again to be angry at Len for committing a crime.

"I wanted to see you," Len admitted and Barry blinked at him for a moment.

"You… you broke my father out of prison because I wouldn't go on a _date_ with you?" Barry muttered, astonished, and Len just shrugged and took another bite of his pizza.

"Think of it more like… borrowed. We'll take him back after dinner," Len drawled. "Happy anniversary," Len said, raising his slice of pizza as if he was toasting and Barry couldn't help his, slightly hysterical, laugh in response to that.

Barry and Henry eventually sat down, in the surprisingly warm warehouse, and Len passed around the boxes of pizza. Barry and his father talked animatedly for most of the meal, Len joining in sometimes but seeming more than happy to just watch Barry as father and son caught up. By the time the pizzas were gone, Barry was wishing that he'd picked up desert as well because he didn't want to say goodbye so soon.

Eventually, though, Henry left the room so that he could change out of the comfortable clothes Len had brought him and back into his prison garb.

"They're going to realise that you're the one who broke him out," Barry muttered quietly, finally being able to muster some of that anger he should have been feeling all along. "And with all the love notes you've been leaving… I don't work with idiots, Len; it's not going to take them long to figure out those notes were for me."

"I've got it covered," Len drawled and Barry frowned at him.

"How? How could you possibly have a way around this?"

"Henry Allen is a high profile inmate," Len stated, leisurely. "Father of a CSI. Someone like that goes missing, it will definitely be a number one priority. It's the perfect distraction for my Rogues out there, committing mass heists."

" _What_?!" Barry demanded and Len seemed surprised by his sudden anger. "You broke my father out so that your crew could pull heists without getting caught?"

"Of course not, Barry. I broke your father out because I've been asking you on dates for over a month without any success and I wanted to see you again. It's just supposed to look like this was nothing more than a distraction to the cops."

Barry shook his head and looked down at his hands, not quite sure what to think. Len had used him in the past, how could Barry be sure that he wasn't just using him now too? He tried to disperse that thought process from his mind. He couldn't think of that right now; he had to focus on getting his father back to prison. And, _God_ , didn't that thought hurt. Len must have noticed where his thoughts had turned to because he was speaking again, this time his voice was soft and quiet.

"He doesn't have to go back, you know."

"Yes, Len, he really does. He can't just live the rest of his life as a fugitive."

"Then…" Len said underneath a sigh. "Let me help you." Barry looked up at him again, frown still on place, and waited for the older man to elaborate. "You've been trying to find out who really killed your mother since you were a child, right?" He asked and Barry nodded. "Well, maybe you need a different approach to it? I run in different circles; I have a different set of connections. I might be able to help." Len shrugged.

"You don't care," Barry muttered quietly. But, even as he said it, it didn't seem right. Barry was so worried about Len using him that he didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Normally, no. But I care about _you_ , Barry."

"You don't even know me."

"I'd like to change that, wouldn't you?" Len asked, inching closer to Barry on the sofa, talking in a soft and luring voice. "Just tell me no, Barry. Tell me that you don't want me in your life and I'll stop. No more gifts. No more messages... _Nothing_." Just thinking about that made Barry's chest ache. But, it was the right thing to do, right? What they'd been doing for these past two months was _wrong_ and Barry should stop it before it went any further. He couldn't be in a relationship with a criminal. It was just too complicated.

"… Stop," Barry whispered, his throat feeling like it was about to close up. Len looked at him with those bright blue eyes for a few seconds more before backing away and standing up. He nodded and didn't say another word as he turned to leave.

And Barry felt like he was about to throw up.

"Wait, _no_ ," Barry called out before Len had made it more than a few steps away from the sofa. He jumped up and grabbed Len's wrist, pulling him back to him. Without thinking, Barry cupped his free hand underneath Len's chin and pulled him in for a kiss. It was messy, and rushed, and tasted slightly of the tears that Barry hadn't even realised he was crying… but when Len wrapped his warm arms around Barry's hips and held him close, all of Barry's worries just disappeared and he wondered how he'd ever thought that this could be wrong.

"You're giving me hot and cold signals here, Barry," Len drawled once the kiss broke and Barry laughed, burying his face in Len's shoulder.

"I don't know what I'm doing," he admitted. "But… maybe I was too hasty to give up on us. Maybe… maybe we can make this work. Or, at least, try to."

"I'd like that."

Len drove Henry back to prison and dropped Barry off at his apartment on the way back, managing to finally set a time and place for their date. He kissed Barry goodbye and Barry couldn't help his smile as he went inside. This was good. This was difficult and complicated… but it was _good_. The smile turned into a full blown grin the next day when he went into work to find an ice sculpture of a love heart on his desk (followed by a more realistic looking one later that day when Barry teased Len about how he had to be more accurate when dating a scientist).

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to eventually have a sequel but the sequel won't be posted until probably around March time next year. It will have a background relationship in it, but I haven't quite decided whether it should be hartmon (Cisco and Hart) or goldenvibe (Cisco and Lisa). Thoughts?


End file.
